1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of the play NOT THE FILM of Real Women Have Curves. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
The play takes place during 1987 in Los Angeles, California. It is extremely hot, and the women are plump. The play starts out early in the morning in a sewing factory with several Mexican-American women, Estela, Ana, Carmen, Rosali, and Pancha. Estela and Ana are Carmen's daughters. The play centers around the women’s lives and their future desires such as going off to college to write at NYU or opening up a fashion boutique.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion is when we learn that Estella is not a legal US citizen. Before we learn this information, the play is relatively slow, but panic starts to ensue when Estela confesses this. Things start to pick up, and the women start to grow nervous, which helps the dramatic action to develop. From this point on, conflict starts to occur. For example, because she is illegal Estela cannot go to court for the sewing company. Since she cannot, she can't pay any of her workers yet.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor is a van that drives by the factory. All of the women had been illegal before (though most, except Estela, are legal now), and the van reminded them of how they had used to hide so they would not get caught and eventually deported out of the United States. Upon realizing they were safe, the women begin discussing how thankful they were that they were legal now; however, Estela blurts out that she is the only illegal woman in the factory, which ensues chaos and drama in the play.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Estela become legal and finish the dresses on time to pay her workers? Will Ana be able to go to college to write at NYU?
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real Women Ana's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
In this play, Ana has a dream of being able to write and attend college. She ends up being able to achieve her dreams, but not without any barriers. Obstacle A: Initially, she resents the factory job because it symbolizes an unideal beginning; she is bitter because she cannot write. By the end of the play, it is shown that she does what she wants regarding writing and going to college, but she is actually proud of where she came from. Because of this, she had to defeat her old self and accept her past, eventually learning from the women she worked with. Obstacle b: other individuals don't seem to take her seriously. All the women treat her like a child and don't understand her feminist viewpoints. For example, Carmen, her mother, doesn’t really want/believe for her to go to college and instead wants her to stay and work at the factory. Ana, on the other hand, wants to go to college to pursue her dreams. Obstacle C: society seems to not follow Ana's liberal thoughts. Ana is frustrated with the way society treats women and believe women are capable of achieving whatever they want. For example, Ana is a strong believer in the concept that women have their own voices to agree or disagree. She thinks a woman can have an abortion or education, but much of society tends to look down upon this viewpoint. In the end, she overcomes society's relatively conservative viewpoints to get what she believes in. There isn't much of an obstacle d, but Ana overcomes her "fate" of being a factory moment to become a writer.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves.
Perhaps the most theatrical moments were:
1) When Estela reveals that she is illegal
2) Towards the end of the play when the van comes around and the women think the Migra are here to take Estela.
These moments were the most tense. In scene 1, this moment is when the play builds anticipation and drama, which intrigues and dazzles the audience. In my opinion, scene 2 is the most theatrical moment. It is a very tense and horrifying moment when the van pulls up. Before, everything seemed to be ideal since the dresses had already been finished, but this would have been in vain if Estela was found out and taken away. Thankfully, it turned out to be a drug bust van, and Estela would be safe.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
1) The opening scene is there they introduce Ana and Carmen as plump women entering the sewing factory. The image gives the audience a very clear understanding of what the rest of the play will be like by emphasizing their weight.
2) When all the women start to undress and reveal their bodies to each other. They compare their weights and curves and realize that it is completely normal to be a little heftier. It is a very intimate moment between the actors and the audience, and this scene helps to show the audience the normalization of different body types.
3) Another image is when Ana is writing. This portrays her as an intelligent woman and helps the audience realize how independent she can be.
All these images help understand how these women are “real women”. They are realistic women who are curvy and heavier, which is very normal. Also, they show the audience that they are capable and independent women who work hard to get what they want. This is why the play is titled Real Women Have Curves, since it helps promote ideas of feminism.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women.
Themes in this play are feminism, money, education, ethnicity/race, danger, family, and relationships.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why?
Family is basically a core theme in Real Women Have Curves. Though the family involving Estela, Ana, and Carmen is not the best, they still all love and care for each other very much. Family is proved to be defined as people who stick through hardships together, no matter what they may be. This can be shown through the dedication they all put to protect each other and help each other in the factory. In the end, family is what ties the dramatic action together since family can ameliorate harsh situations. They all show some version of "tough love." Though the women in the family can get irritated with each other, they know how to open up, support, and love each other in the end of the play. This family is a very realistic definition since it is often very rare to have a "perfect" family.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of the play NOT THE FILM of Real Women Have Curves. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
The play takes place during 1987 in Los Angeles, California. It is extremely hot, and the women are plump. The play starts out early in the morning in a sewing factory with several Mexican-American women, Estela, Ana, Carmen, Rosali, and Pancha. Estela and Ana are Carmen's daughters. The play centers around the women’s lives and their future desires such as going off to college to write at NYU or opening up a fashion boutique.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion is when we learn that Estella is not a legal US citizen. Before we learn this information, the play is relatively slow, but panic starts to ensue when Estela confesses this. Things start to pick up, and the women start to grow nervous, which helps the dramatic action to develop. From this point on, conflict starts to occur. For example, because she is illegal Estela cannot go to court for the sewing company. Since she cannot, she can't pay any of her workers yet.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor is a van that drives by the factory. All of the women had been illegal before (though most, except Estela, are legal now), and the van reminded them of how they had used to hide so they would not get caught and eventually deported out of the United States. Upon realizing they were safe, the women begin discussing how thankful they were that they were legal now; however, Estela blurts out that she is the only illegal woman in the factory, which ensues chaos and drama in the play.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Estela become legal and finish the dresses on time to pay her workers? Will Ana be able to go to college to write at NYU?
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real Women Ana's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
In this play, Ana has a dream of being able to write and attend college. She ends up being able to achieve her dreams, but not without any barriers. Obstacle A: Initially, she resents the factory job because it symbolizes an unideal beginning; she is bitter because she cannot write. By the end of the play, it is shown that she does what she wants regarding writing and going to college, but she is actually proud of where she came from. Because of this, she had to defeat her old self and accept her past, eventually learning from the women she worked with. Obstacle b: other individuals don't seem to take her seriously. All the women treat her like a child and don't understand her feminist viewpoints. For example, Carmen, her mother, doesn’t really want/believe for her to go to college and instead wants her to stay and work at the factory. Ana, on the other hand, wants to go to college to pursue her dreams. Obstacle C: society seems to not follow Ana's liberal thoughts. Ana is frustrated with the way society treats women and believe women are capable of achieving whatever they want. For example, Ana is a strong believer in the concept that women have their own voices to agree or disagree. She thinks a woman can have an abortion or education, but much of society tends to look down upon this viewpoint. In the end, she overcomes society's relatively conservative viewpoints to get what she believes in. There isn't much of an obstacle d, but Ana overcomes her "fate" of being a factory moment to become a writer.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves.
Perhaps the most theatrical moments were:
1) When Estela reveals that she is illegal
2) Towards the end of the play when the van comes around and the women think the Migra are here to take Estela.
These moments were the most tense. In scene 1, this moment is when the play builds anticipation and drama, which intrigues and dazzles the audience. In my opinion, scene 2 is the most theatrical moment. It is a very tense and horrifying moment when the van pulls up. Before, everything seemed to be ideal since the dresses had already been finished, but this would have been in vain if Estela was found out and taken away. Thankfully, it turned out to be a drug bust van, and Estela would be safe.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
1) The opening scene is there they introduce Ana and Carmen as plump women entering the sewing factory. The image gives the audience a very clear understanding of what the rest of the play will be like by emphasizing their weight.
2) When all the women start to undress and reveal their bodies to each other. They compare their weights and curves and realize that it is completely normal to be a little heftier. It is a very intimate moment between the actors and the audience, and this scene helps to show the audience the normalization of different body types.
3) Another image is when Ana is writing. This portrays her as an intelligent woman and helps the audience realize how independent she can be.
All these images help understand how these women are “real women”. They are realistic women who are curvy and heavier, which is very normal. Also, they show the audience that they are capable and independent women who work hard to get what they want. This is why the play is titled Real Women Have Curves, since it helps promote ideas of feminism.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women.
Themes in this play are feminism, money, education, ethnicity/race, danger, family, and relationships.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why?
Family is basically a core theme in Real Women Have Curves. Though the family involving Estela, Ana, and Carmen is not the best, they still all love and care for each other very much. Family is proved to be defined as people who stick through hardships together, no matter what they may be. This can be shown through the dedication they all put to protect each other and help each other in the factory. In the end, family is what ties the dramatic action together since family can ameliorate harsh situations. They all show some version of "tough love." Though the women in the family can get irritated with each other, they know how to open up, support, and love each other in the end of the play. This family is a very realistic definition since it is often very rare to have a "perfect" family.